– TITO ORTIZ VS. DANA WHITE SPARRING MATCH STILL ON

by Damon Martin – MMAWeekly.com
While much of the MMA community is focused on title fights and Pride vs. UFC match-ups, many fans are also waiting to hear the time and place of the proposed sparring match between former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz and UFC president Dana White.

It was announced some months ago that as part of the agreement of bringing Tito Ortiz back to the UFC, he would get to spar with his boss in a boxing match. While it still hasn’t happened, the two participants haven’t forgotten. At the UFC 61 post-fight press conference, both White and Ortiz acknowledged that the sparring match will happen, and possibly in the near future.

When asked about the proposed match-up and his preparations to spar with Ortiz, White said, “I’m gonna have to jump right in and start doing that.” Tito got an instant smile on his face when the question was asked, and it looks like he’ll be enjoying it he gets to put on the gloves and let out some aggression on White, who was Ortiz’ manager before Zuffa bought the UFC.

While it doesn’t appear that the fight will be seen by anyone outside of Dana White and Tito Ortiz, the current 205-pound top contender did mention the possibility of showing the fight somewhere and donating the profits to charity. Dana White did seem confident in his ability to handle himself against the former champion, but also remained steadfast that it would not be a public spectacle.

When asked about the chances that the fight will ever actually be seen by any fans or spectators in a live audience, White said, “I’ll beat him up in private.”

Only time will tell when or if the match-up will take place, but the two are talking about it openly, so the possibility of Tito Ortiz versus Dana White, even if it is only a sparring match, still looks like it’s very likely to become a reality.